I’ll do my best not to make this website a repeat of Dribbble news, but… makers of one of my favorite apps for the iPhone (Outside) have just launched the first Dribbble iOS app. Dunk is a beautifully-designed feed viewer for Dribbble shots, tags and players. Really looking forward to seeing more from the Robocat folks (and other app crafters!) as our API matures.Â
Archive for August, 2010
Beautiful Examples of Transparent Screen Trick Photos
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Two weeks ago we published a showcase of beautiful pinhole photography, and this weekend again we’ve got something unusual and creative to lift up your spirits and challenge your creativity. Illusions can be eye-catching and attractive and when you apply them to computer displays, the results can be quite interesting and deceptive.
Take transparent screen trick photos, for example. The idea is simple: you take a photo of your surroundings and set this photo as your desktop wallpaper. Once the display is positioned precisely, the transparent screen trick is achieved. Simple, but what can you do with this simple idea?
Below we present a short selection of some original transparent screen trick photos. The environments presented in these photos appear to have a completely transparent screen which creates an optical illusion. We also feature step-by-step-tutorials in the end of this post: and here you go — now you have something fun to do over the weekend!
[By the way, did you know we have a free Email Newsletter? Subscribe now and get fresh short tips and tricks in your inbox!]
Transparent Screen Trick Photos
Transparent Screen Tutorials and Resources
Just for Fun – Transparent Laptop Tutorial
This project involves taking three different pictures. The first two will be taken at the same time, and the last will be taken after some editing. It is very important that you do not move your computer or tripod during the whole process.
Transparent TFT Screen Tutorial
Learn how to create a transparent looking tft screen by combine smart photographing with some easy photoshop tricks. You will need a camera tripod and of course a digital camera to do this.
Transparent Screens Flickr Group
A huge and growing gallery of photos with the transparent screen trick effect.
© Aquil Akhter for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: photography, photos
The Future of Mobile Development
There was an interesting question posted in the last few week on Answers, discussing a web design topic which is very popular and certainly relevant within the design community. The question was “What Do You Think is the Future of Mobile Development?”. Questions like these deserve to be opened up to a wider readership, so, what do you think?
You can leave your comment below, or you can leave an even better your answer on the original question on Answers: What Do You Think is the Future of Mobile Development?
What Do You Think is the Future of Mobile Development?
This question was originally asked by a Themans, and you will find the best answer below:
The Best Answer came from an Andrew Miller:
The Next Answer came from a Steve Workman:
Unanswered Answers
That is now four weeks without any unanswered questions!!!
Thanks to everyone who asked a question, but most importantly thanks to everyone that took the time and effort to offer helpful and useful answers.
Penultimate
Penultimate:
Giving this sketchbook app a spin on the iPad. Hoping it helps me use it more. I’m finding that having an iPhone and a Macbook Pro has me pretty well covered. Waiting for a breakthrough moment with the iPad that goes beyond having yet another device to check email, web, Twitter, etc.
The Things Clients Expect Designers to Have Learned
As the web standards continue to increase, new technologies and techniques arise, which increases clientele expectations for what a designer can bring forth. Whether be it fancy gradient effects, attention to detail, or mesmerizing illustrations, there is always that expectation a client wants for what they envision for their design. Furthermore, we discuss eight things a client expects from today’s designers to have learned.
PHP
A lot of clients search for designers who can design and develop in PHP to eliminate the process of contracting two or more people. Let us dive right into why and how it is important. Clientele range from many different niches, from portfolios to corporate sites but they all have a few things in common in terms of needs. Most websites we look at today have contact forms, lightweight galleries, or a simple display of products.
While you can find many free contact forms or galleries, basic knowledge of PHP is needed to modify or customize them to suit the client’s needs. A lot of times they want to be able to manage their contact form, display of products, or gallery all from a centralized panel, without PHP knowledge this cannot be easily attainable. Therefore, it is important to begin to adapt to a PHP or development environment.
Illustration
Many new designers can whip up designs with fancy gradients and patterns; however, they cannot create basic illustrations or graphics such as a lightweight illustration of a park or even simple graphics such as chalkboards and what not. Today’s clients expect designers to have such basic skills in order to whip them up a few things they might need to make their website stand out. With a plethora of free quality tutorials on how to create basic and advanced illustrations, there is no reason not to learn how to do it.
Creativity
While there is nothing wrong with browsing the net for inspiring designs, clients want their designs to stand out with new original ideas to enhance their image on originality. In fact, with so many pre-made designs out there, proving to your client that they made the right decision choosing you is ever increasing in difficulty; however, this proves your originality and ingenuity. Therefore, adapting to a creative environment or creative thinking gives you the upper hand on design allowing you to impress clients every time.
Logo Design
Logo design also categorizes under illustrations and creativity as a logo is the unique icon your client’s customers will remember. While it is wrong for clientele to think that a redesign includes a logo design, clientele expect it as a part of the package. Having the creativity in design to create a unique logo for your client’s niche expands on your portfolio and customer base. Therefore, emphasizing on illustration design is an increasing demand for designers, becoming a must for some clientele.
Clean PSD, Clean Code
A lot of clients want security for their future, they want to make sure if they hire someone a few years down the line that the person they hire can easily pick up from where you left off. With that said, it is in your best interest to offer a well organized, grouped, labeled, and layered PSD of the design or certain graphic elements that might be changed in the future. Clean code is also another thing clients look for but cannot distinguish the difference.
However, by properly commenting and organizing your code, your client will definitely be impressed with the work and will recommend you or re-contract you in the future. Furthermore, this also makes it easier for them to modify and maintain their site if they need to change a few small things, which saves you time from clientele who expect you to help them out for free when they need it.
CSS 3
The demand for CSS 3 is surprisingly increasing as clientele become more tech savvy. While Internet Explorer and other similar browsers do not support CSS 3, specializing your design to the browser your client uses is what you need to do to an extent. If your client uses Google Chrome or Firefox, you can save time by creating rounded corners and shadowing using CSS 3 as it does not mess up Internet Explorer users, but rather limits the design a bit. It also gives your client flexibility to be able to change things without the need to recreate the rounded corners as it is all done dynamically.
Javascript and Javascript Frameworks
Javascript effects are becoming noticeable all over the web, it gives a website more personality and the pizzazz clientele are looking for. Therefore, learning how to code in Javascript is becoming a must even as a designer as it effects how your design behaves. There are a lot of Javascript frameworks out in the world today that help ease up the hard coding, making it a few minute step even for developers new to the language.
Furthermore, it is a good idea to browse through many different frameworks and picking the best that suits you and your clients need, and expanding your knowledge about it. Clients are not meticulous about what framework you use, but are rather for the effects you implement.
Mobile Design Skills
Many of your clients will most likely have some sort of mobile device whether be it a phone or some sort of device like the iPod Touch. What this means is, they will most definitely try out their new website on their mobile device only throw feedback at you for correction. Therefore, learning some tips and tricks about mobile design and how to approach it is definitely an increasing demand, and something you should invest time in to learn and understand.
It is always a great move to stay up to date with new technologies and demands as a designer while continuing to expand on your skill set. Not only does this increase your knowledge, it also affects your portfolio in a positive way and widens your range of the type of jobs or clientele you can accept, and most importantly, it gives you the upper hand in the industry.